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[Jark'osa Hauza]

I want a medium-shade brown Jango-style vest that looks similar to his in material.  What materials would you recommend to get a similar look?

Obviously leather is #1.  I don't know where to buy it, especially in a local store.

I would assume pleather is #2, but I've never owned anything pleather.  I don't know if I could get the same look as leather, or if it'd be overly glossy or thin & "flowy".  I don't know who sells this either.

What's the next best material for acheiving a rugged, duty/combat quality appearance?

[DZerimar]

Where do you live? I'm sure there is a store that sells fabrics or a craft store somewhere close.

[Jark'osa Hauza]

I live in Jacksonville, FL.  We have a large Jo Anns, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels.  While I wasn't specifically looking for leather/pleather in Jo Anns, I do not recall seeing any when I was shopping for other materials.  I was wondering if there were any known chain-stores or online stores to carry a selection of these fabrics at reasonable prices.

Thank you!

[Niabi]

You can normally find some Leather on Ebay pretty cheap. in a load of sizes and colourers. the Whole / half Hides are normally a good way to go as you end up with extra leather for accessory’s . 

[Jark'osa Hauza]

Thank you for the advice on the whole/half leather hides.  Does anyone have experience purchasing leather for sewing?  I don't know what type of thickness or how the flexibility is judged.  I'm sure I can find this somewhere online with some research, but it'd be great if someone's already researched this for this specific use.

I'd prefer to use my wife's everyday sewing machine (with a strong needle & thread of course), so a thinner/flexible material would be best.

Thank you!

[Niabi]

I used my normal sewing machine for making my leather goods. Just make sure you have Leather needles and take it slow (esp on multiple layer parts)

[Jark'osa Hauza]

I went to Jo Anns and found several selections of vinyl/polyurethane pleather.  They had some thin stuff in the fabrics, but the thicker, smooth leather looking stuff was in the Upholstery section.  They were pretty pricey, but I managed to find some reasonably priced stuff online.  Going to Jo Anns helped me see the differences in types of vinyl & pleather though.

[Dar'manda]

Tandy Leather is where i go to find leathers they have full hides all the way out to exotics as well as quarters and smaller sizes. most of it maybe thick like saddle leather but you can find furniture leathers as well there.

best bet would be to go to a thrift store and look for leather skirts. they usually run about 12.00 bucks each and places like goodwill or salvation army and smaller stores you can get a used leather couch for 50-60 bucks on craigslist and strip the material. it will still be cheaper than getting new clothing quality leather from a retail store

[Dar'manda]

as far as the needles and thread use heavy duty needles for the leather and canvas. the thread- i use marine grade nylon threads much stronger than the cotton and silk threads and both are used on the normal brothers or singer machines. and as said before go very slow on the machine they say the needles are heavy duty but they will bind and break if you work too fast.

[Dar'manda]

not trying to fish, but for 140 shipped, i know someone that can make you a leather vest.